This week’s Time Capsule looks at Civil War damages, a bank robbery, the Atherton’s Drug Store explosion, a gas pump fire and ham radios.

100 years ago …

In Friday, Feb. 27, 1914 edition of the Marietta Journal and Courier, the front page reported that the claim of the Presbyterian church for $3,000 in damages against the government caused by Federal troops during the Civil War had successfully passed every stage and was in the hands of a Senate Committee. Col. Fred Morris, who represented the church, had been pushing the matter vigorously. In 1864, the church was badly damaged when it was used by soldiers as a field hospital.

Also that week there was a story about the early morning discovery that burglars had unsuccessfully tried blow open the vault of the Bank of Smyrna. The work was believed to be done by experts, but the bank vault was too strong for the charge and very little damage was done.

50 years ago …

In the Friday, Feb. 21, 1964 Marietta Daily Journal there was a story reporting that Dr. Herman E. Jones, director of the State Crime Laboratory, had concluded in a report presented to city officials that the Halloween night explosion at Atherton’s Drug Store on the Marietta Square was caused by a natural gas leak. The Jones report echoed the Marietta Fire Department’s report, which also blamed a leaking gas main. Read more about the Atherton’s Drug Store explosion here.

Three construction workers were also reported that day as being injured when scaffolding collapsed at the site of the new Atherton’s Drug Store. The men were placing masonry on a rear wall about 10-12 feet from the ground at the time of the accident.

The late Otis A. Brumby Sr., founder of the Cobb County Times and the first board chairman of Times-Journal Inc., was reported in the Sunday, Feb. 23, 1964 paper as being named to the Hall of Fame of the Georgia Press Association. Brumby, who died in 1953, was one of four newspapermen who received the distinction at the Georgia Press Institute held in Athens. A portrait of the nationally acclaimed publisher was to be placed in the Reading Room of the Henry Grady School of Journalism at Athens.

Another story that day reported that Admiral David L. McDonald, chief of Naval Operations, stressed the importance of military reserve training on a visit to the Naval Air Station in Marietta. He pointed out that reserve strength was more important to the nation than ever before. The native Georgian said with all the crises around the world that the United States “must have ready reserve forces” and “the reserves provide our residual strength.”

In the Thursday, Feb. 27, 1964 paper it was reported that a gas pump at Reece Brothers Standard Oil station on Roswell Street burst into flames when a truck knocked it over. The truck, which was towing a 60-foot house trailer, was parked across from the station and the brakes apparently failed. The truck rolled across busy Roswell Street without mishap before knocking over the pump and severely damaging another. Sparks ignited the gasoline and fears that the three 1,100-gallon tanks underneath the pumps would explode. A fire truck was dispatched from a nearby Marietta Fire Department sub-station and extinguished the blaze.

A group of 18 Mariettans were also reported that day as having petitioned the City Council to do something about ham radio transmissions which repeatedly interfered with television reception on Hill Court, Mimosa Drive, Parkview Drive and Aviation Road. City Manager Walter Brown said the city had no authority in the radio field and probably would have to refer the matter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The petition called for the city council to “do something about the invasion of privacy and nuisance created” by the radio transmissions.

20 years ago …

The long-standing plan to build a conference center on the grounds of the Marietta City Club was reported in the Monday, Feb. 21, 1994 MDJ as possibly being scuttled by new city council members – most of which favored using the property for a continuing education center instead. Although the city council had yet to formally take up the issue after nearly two months in office, a poll of the seven members revealed that at least four supported a change in plans.

In the Tuesday, Feb. 22, 1994 paper it was reported that as his stunned wife looked on, the body of a Dallas man who drowned in a private south Cobb lake was found at almost the same spot he was last seen. The man fell into G.B.’s Lake off Hicks Road near Smyrna. Cobb police divers found his body the next day in about six feet of water. Divers were hampered throughout the search by the murkiness of the water and by submerged tree limbs and other man-made debris such as metal and plastic plumbing pipes in the small lake. The victim was fishing with two others when his rented flat-bottom metal boat flipped over halfway across the lake.

Damon Poirier is the Newsroom Administrator for the Marietta Daily Journal.

If you are interested in learning more about the stories that were presented in this week’s column, you can search the newspaper’s digitized microfilm archives online. NewsBank, which hosts the archives for the Marietta Daily Journal, charges a fee for retrieved articles and has various price packages available. If you have any trouble with your username, password or payment options, please contact NewsBank at mariettadaily@newsbank.com.

This week’s Time Capsule looks at a senator’s death, Leo Frank, a car chase, Naval Air Station-Atlanta and Northwest Georgia Health System.

100 years ago …

In Friday, Feb. 20, 1914 edition of the Marietta Journal and Courier, the front page reported Georgia Senator Augustus O. Bacon died after a short illness that puzzled his physicians for several days. Just after it was announced that the trouble had been located and that it would “yield readily to medical treatment” Senator Bacon collapsed and died. The cause of death was believed to be a blood clot that entered his heart. The funeral services were held in the Senate Chamber in Washington and the body was brought to Atlanta where it was taken to the State Capitol to lie in state for four hours before being taken to Macon where it will be buried.

Also that week there was a story about Leo M. Frank, who was convicted of the murder of Mary Phagan of Marietta and sentenced to be hanged, was refused a new trial by the State Supreme Court. The court stood four against a new trial with two judges dissenting. Practically without exception Solicitor Hugh Dorsey was upheld on every point by the Superior Court.

50 years ago …

Lockheed’s StarLifter was reported in the Friday, Feb. 14, 1964 Marietta Daily Journal as having taken its second test flight and the landing gear of the huge C-141 was retracted for the first time.

Also that day, it was reported that the Navy’s top ranking officer, Admiral David L. McDonald, chief of Naval Operations, was scheduled to visit Marietta as a guest of Greater Atlanta Chapter of the Reserve Officers Association. Admiral McDonald was to arrive at the Naval Air Station in Marietta where he was to conduct a press conference immediately upon arrival and then attend a luncheon at the Marietta Country Club as a guest of the Marietta-Cobb County Council, Navy League.

In the Sunday, Feb. 16, 1964 paper it was reported a 110-mph car chase on the North 4-Lane (U.S. Highway 41) between Marietta Police and two wanted men ended in a three-car pile-up after the fleeing pair smashed a roadblock in Kennesaw. Marietta Police lieutenant Robert F. McBrayer suffered severe head and possible internal injuries in the crash and was listed in “critical condition” at Kennestone Hospital. His partner, Wyndall Black, who had just returned to work after being injured in the Atherton’s Drug Store explosion, was admitted to the hospital with head/ facial cuts and possible internal injuries. He was listed in “fair” condition.

Another story that day reported that a proposed constitutional amendment to abolish the office of coroner in Cobb County had been passed in the State Senate and was waiting on House action.

Type I Sabine oral polio vaccine was reported in the Wednesday, Feb. 19, 1964 paper as being available at the Cobb County Health Department. Health director Dr. Ernest Thompson said the vaccine would be dispensed free of charge.

20 years ago …

The state Environmental Protection Division was reported in the Thursday, Feb. 17, 1994 MDJ as threatening to fine Cobb County up to $60,000 a day for dumping an undetermined amount of silt into a north Cobb creek. The county reportedly failed to enforce erosion laws during the installation of a sewer line along Upper Allatoona Creek at Burnt Hickory Road near Acworth.

Also that day, it was reported that cutbacks in defense spending would leave Naval Air Station-Atlanta without aircraft in June 1994 and could result in the disbanding of its attack squadron. The twin-engine Grumman A-4 Intruder planes flown by the squadron were slated for retirement in June 1994 and there was no scheduled replacements. Deactivation of NAS-Atlanta’s attack squadron would affect 12 active-duty officers and 156 enlisted personnel, as well as 42 reserve officers and 128 enlisted reservists.

In the Friday, Feb. 18, 1994 paper reported that Cobb-based Northwest Georgia Health System was the state’s largest health-care provider, now that it has merged with two Cherokee County hospitals. R.T. Jones Hospital in Canton and Woodstock Hospital signed documents officially declaring their alliances with Northwest, which was based near Cobb Hospital and Medical Center off Austell Road.

Damon Poirier is the Newsroom Administrator for the Marietta Daily Journal.

If you are interested in learning more about the stories that were presented in this week’s column, you can search the newspaper’s digitized microfilm archives online. NewsBank, which hosts the archives for the Marietta Daily Journal, charges a fee for retrieved articles and has various price packages available. If you have any trouble with your username, password or payment options, please contact NewsBank at mariettadaily@newsbank.com.

This week’s Time Capsule looks at a pony contest, robberies, arsonists, an Oakdale annexation, a Kennestone addition and Home Depot.

100 years ago …

In Friday, Feb. 6, 1914 edition of the Marietta Journal and Courier, the front page reported that Cecil Hill, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. R.A. Hill, won the pony and cart prize in a contest put on by the Marietta Journal, the Gem Theater, the W.A. Florence Department Store, Ms. Myrtice Allgood, T.W. Read and E.T. Gann. At least 150 boys and girls entered, but less than 20 made it to the end. Ballots, which were counted under the supervision of Jesse N. Gantt and James E. Dobbs over two days, represented several million votes. Ms. Hill, with 2,490,515 votes, won the light seal brown pony with a flaxen mane and a cart upholstered with gray cloth and a rattan backed seat. She reportedly named the pony “Florence” in honor of W.A. Florence.

Also that week there was a story about Marietta Mayor E.P. Dobbs having secured the consent of W.H. Benson, who was building a new garage on Atlanta Street, to widen the sidewalk at that point by three feet. The widened sidewalk would be twelve feet wide. Dobbs reportedly wanted to see the sidewalk widened all the way out to the Methodist Church.

50 years ago …

In the Friday, Jan. 31, 1964 Marietta Daily Journal, it was reported that a small, young man with long, neatly combed, blond hair held a cashier at gunpoint the day before as he robbed a Mableton grocery store of $1,388 and two cartons of cigarettes.

Another story that day reported burglars looted an upstairs safe at the Marietta Coca-Cola Bottling Co. for an estimated $8,000. City detective Bill Elliot said that entry was made through a back door. He also said that the safe was opened with a blow torch and appeared to be the work of professionals.

County fire masters were reported in the Sunday, Feb. 2, 1964 paper as seeking to meet with the Cobb Advisory Board to discuss the proposed changing of fire district names to numbers, which a larges South Cobb contingent opposed. The Advisory Board said the advantages of this change would be reduced rates of fire insurance, better protection and less confusion.

In the Monday, Feb. 3, 1964 paper, it was reported that a man on his way home from Dobbins Air force Base was surprised early the morning before when another man rose up from the floor board in the back seat of his car. The unexpected passenger told the driver to keep driving, but he drove through a fence near the base and jumped out of the car. When the driver looked back, he saw the unknown fellow driving off with his car down nearby railroad tracks.

The Concord Road covered bridge, a survivor of Sherman’s vandals, was reported in the Tuesday, Feb. 4, 1964 paper as having almost succumbed to modern day ones the night before. Arsonists tried to burn the bridge twice, but failed. A spokesman for the South Cobb No. 2 fire station said the first try was at 8:30 p.m. and only the gasoline, which was poured from end to end on the bridge, burned. The second attempt at 12:30 a.m. caused some of the wooden structure to ignite and suffer minor damage.

Also that day, residents of the Oakdale area were reported as studying the possibility of annexing into the City of Smyrna as a means of avoiding annexation into Atlanta. Tom Reed, president of the Lemons District Civic Club, confirmed plans for the study after inviting Smyrna Mayor George Kreeger and City Council to meet with his community’s citizens. The move started when an official of the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce said in a speech that his city would have to annex surrounding white areas to avoid becoming a pre-dominantly black city. A pending bill in the General Assembly, which would permit cities to annex adjoining property by act of council without consent of property owners, also added to the pressure.

A member of the Marietta Hospital Authority was reported in the Thursday, Feb. 6, 1964 paper as calling for construction of a 200-room addition to Kennestone Hospital in an effort to meet the increasing medical needs of the area. Dr. Robert P. Coggins, speaking to a meeting of the Early Bird Coffee Club on behalf of the Cobb County Medical Society, said that the proposed convalescent-diagnostic unit would relieve 200 beds at Kennestone for treatment of “acute” patients.

20 years ago …

In the Thursday, Feb. 3, 1994 MDJ, it was reported that Cobb County managed to keep Home Depot’s national headquarters in the county, but for a price. The county pledged more than $20 million in road projects to entice the company to relocate on a 43-acre tract at the northwest corner of Paces Ferry Road and Interstate 285. Cobb taxpayers were responsible for $1.3 million of the total $20 million. The most expensive project was a new interchange at Paces Ferry Road over I-285 costing between $15 and $18 million.

Damon Poirier is the Newsroom Administrator for the Marietta Daily Journal.

If you are interested in learning more about the stories that were presented in this week’s column, you can search the newspaper’s digitized microfilm archives online. NewsBank, which hosts the archives for the Marietta Daily Journal, charges a fee for retrieved articles and has various price packages available. If you have any trouble with your username, password or payment options, please contact NewsBank at mariettadaily@newsbank.com.

This week’s Time Capsule looks at a train robbery, a restaurant raid, a bomb threat and a road block.

100 years ago …

In Friday, Jan. 23, 1914 edition of the Marietta Journal and Courier, the front page reported a train robbery that happened on the previous Friday night aboard the N.C. and St. L. fast passenger train as it passed southward between Vinings and Bolton. Just after the train passed Vinings, the Pullman car conductor started through the train to make his report when he was confronted at the rear car door by a masked man with a black pistol. The robber ordered the passengers to the front of the car, made them give up their purses and took about $300. The robber then pulled the emergency brake cord, waited for the train to slow and then swung off the rear platform. The conductor rushed through the train and found a Fulton County policeman who was the only armed person aboard. Rushing to the rear platform, the officer fired at the robber but missed him in the dark.

Also that week there was a story about the United Daughters of the Confederacy celebrating the birthday of Robert E. Lee at the residence of Mrs. S.A. Anderson. A dozen Confederate veterans were present and during the social hour after the ladies program they talked about wartime scenes and memories. W.J. Manning was reported as saying that he had visited the Confederate museum in Richmond on several occasions and talked about the importance of preserving the war relics. He also spoke about a boyish Confederate soldier named Kirkland, who during a battle in freezing weather took five canteens of water to wounded Federals who were suffering from thirst and the cold.

50 years ago …

In the Friday, Jan. 17, 1964 Marietta Daily Journal, Cobb Rep. Bill Teague said he was introducing a bill in the General Assembly that would repeal Georgia’s controversial “Face Your Accuser Law.” The law had been under constant fire from grand juries and other groups for years. It provided that no state or county official could be indicated of wrong doing charges without first having an opportunity to appear before the grand jury with counsel and defense witnesses.

Marietta’s new city administration was reported in the Sunday, Jan. 19, 1964 paper as eying installation of electronic data processing equipment to speed up and cut costs of billing and accounting in City Hall and the city’s various government related agencies.

A third-grade student at the Pine Forest School was reported in the Monday, Jan. 20, 1964 paper as being struck by a car on Clay Street as he and his sister were on their way to school. The eight-year old boy was hospitalized with arm and rib fractures after he darted into the street and was hit by the car.

In the Tuesday, Jan. 21, 1964 paper it was reported that the State Health Department had agreed to make funds available in July for the construction of a new 150-bed hospital in Cobb County.

Also that day, it was reported that Sheriff’s deputies raided the recently opened Old Lamp Lighter Restaurant on the South 4-Lane (U.S. Highway 41) and arrested a woman for possessing an illegal amount of tax-paid whiskey and selling mixed drinks. Sheriff Kermit C. Sanders said that he had numerous complaints about mixed drinks being sold on the premises and the most recent ones were from local ministers.

A performance of “Who’s Been Sleeping In My Bed” was reported in the Wednesday, Jan. 22, 1964 paper as having halted for about 30 minutes as police and firemen searched the Cobb Theater for a non-existent bomb. B.A. Eddison, manager of the theater, told police a man called and said there was a bomb in the movie house around 8 p.m. and that it would explode in 15 minutes. Eddison initially ignored the call, but the man called back and asked him if he had searched the theater yet.

Cobb County, Marietta and Douglasville Police were reported in the Thursday, Jan. 23, 1964 paper as having teamed up to capture three men wanted for armed robbery in Alabama. Cobb Police received a call at 1 a.m. that the three suspects were traveling towards Cobb from Cressville, Ala. At 1:30 a.m., they received a call from a Dallas Police officer who was following them but afraid to stop the car. Cobb Police ordered a road block on Dallas Highway and turned a truck across the road stopping traffic.

20 years ago …

In the Tuesday, Jan. 18, 1994 MDJ a predicted ice storm waited until mid-morning to hit the county, but freezing rain and sleet quickly slicked roads that caused hundreds of wrecks. The icy precipitation, part of a storm that moved from Texas to Georgia during the night, caused treacherous driving conditions that paralyzed some areas of north Georgia. Police said it might take days to determine the number of accidents that happened during the storm. The following day, the Wednesday, Jan. 19 paper, reported that 177 accidents happened during the icy spell while an Arctic front blasted into the county and the wind chill dropped to -15 degrees. The next day, the Thursday, Jan. 20 paper, reported that a third of Cobb County’s school buses stalled in the cold.

Damon Poirier is the Newsroom Administrator for the Marietta Daily Journal.

If you are interested in learning more about the stories that were presented in this week’s column, you can search the newspaper’s digitized microfilm archives online. NewsBank, which hosts the archives for the Marietta Daily Journal, charges a fee for retrieved articles and has various price packages available. If you have any trouble with your username, password or payment options, please contact NewsBank at mariettadaily@newsbank.com.

This week’s Time Capsule looks at a Kennesaw shooting, the Atherton’s Drug Store explosion investigation and high school dropouts losing driver’s licenses.

100 years ago …

In the Friday, Jan. 16, 1914 edition of the Marietta Journal and Courier, there was a story about B.A. Fite, the receiver of the defunct Kennesaw Bank, being arrested on charges of having fired several shots into the home of W.P. Whitaker in Kennesaw. The shooting was reported as following a feud between the stockholders of the defunct bank and its former officers.

Five rounds were fired into the home. The first two were fired through a window and the last three through a panel of glass in the front door where they lodged in the wall at the end of a hall. Whitaker was in Atlanta on business at the time of the shooting, but his wife and two small children were in the house.

Before Whitaker returned home, after being reached by his wife via telephone, the Sheriff’s office in Marietta had been notified. Deputy George M. Hicks and his bloodhounds tracked a trail immediately to the home of Fite, which was two blocks from Whitaker’s home. Deputy Hicks wanting to be sure he had the right man, ran the bloodhounds along the trail a second time and they lead him to Fite’s door a second time.

50 years ago …

In the Friday, Jan. 10, 1964 Marietta Daily Journal there was a story about the Marietta Board of Education awarding a $208,000 contract to Marietta Construction Company for building of a new addition at Lemon Street High School. School Superintendent Henry Kemp said construction of the addition was to be placed on the site of the school’s present football field and financed jointly by the Marietta and Cobb Boards of Education.

Investigators were reported in the Sunday, Jan. 12, 1964 paper as having completed their often delayed probe into the cause of the explosion of the Atherton’s Drug Store that happened on Oct. 31. Fire Chief Howard Schaeffer said an official announcement of the cause would be given as soon as the individual agencies were able to compile and confer on their findings.

The investigation proceeded rapidly until it was feared that heavy drilling work needed by the probe would cause the building to collapse. It also took a little over three weeks to dismantle the heavily damaged structure and then weather deteriorated into rain, sleet and snow which halted the investigation.

For a day by day look at news coverage following the gas explosion at Atherton’s Drug Store, check out The Atherton's Drug Store Explosion column.

Cobb Sen. Ed Kendrick announced in the Tuesday, Jan. 14, 1964 paper that he was co-sponsoring legislation in the General Assembly that would make school dropouts lose their driver’s licenses. The measure was scheduled for introduction in the State Senate by Kendrick and Sen. Zell Miller and would deny licenses to people of high school age if they voluntarily quit school. Kendrick said he and Miller were not only concerned about the dropout problem, but “we want somebody who is educated driving that hunk of machinery on the road.”

Also that day, City Planner Leo LaForge began anew a once thwarted survey to determine the necessary steps for making Marietta’s central business district more attractive to shoppers. The survey was first initiated in the fall of 1963, but fell through when downtown merchants and businessmen failed to reply to a questionnaire mailed to them by LaForge. The survey was part of a $51,000 urban development study approved for the city in June by the federal government’s Housing and Home Finance Agency.

20 years ago …

In the Monday, Jan. 10, 1994 MDJ it was reported that State Rep. Jack Vaughn, R-west Cobb, who underwent successful surgery for brain cancer three years earlier, was to undergo surgery again after a reoccurrence of the tumor. Rep. Vaughn, then-32, said that he admitted himself to Emory University Hospital after suffering what he thought was “sinus-related headaches for about two weeks.” Two days later, Tuesday, Jan. 12, 1994, it was reported that Rep. Vaughn’s neurosurgeon, Dr. Suzie Tindall, called the operation a success. Rep. Vaughn said his illness would not change his plans to run for a fourth two-year term in the Legislature.

Damon Poirier is the Newsroom Administrator for the Marietta Daily Journal.

If you are interested in learning more about the stories that were presented in this week’s column, you can search the newspaper’s digitized microfilm archives online. NewsBank, which hosts the archives for the Marietta Daily Journal, charges a fee for retrieved articles and has various price packages available. If you have any trouble with your username, password or payment options, please contact NewsBank at mariettadaily@newsbank.com.

This week’s Time Capsule looks at a convict cages, a car theft with tin foil, high acid levels and gun licensing fees.

100 years ago …

In the Friday, Jan. 9, 1914 edition of the Marietta Journal and Courier, the entire front page was taken up by an advertisement from T.W. Read’s that was headlined with “At last the mystery is solved! The truth is known. The world revolves and the seeds are sown, and now to reap the Harvest, yes! The greatest Harvest this country has ever known by attending T.W. Read’s Big Sale.” Some sale items were 3-cent Ladies’ and Misses’ hose, 1-cent Ladies’ handkerchiefs, 3-cent Men’s hose and 2-cent Men’s handkerchiefs.

Also that week it was reported that the county commissioners met in regular session and decided to advertise for bids in the construction of five steel cages to confine convicts at night. The cages were to be on wheels and could be taken from point to point. Each cage was to have an 18-man capacity.

Another story reported that E.G. Hill was elected mayor of Kennesaw and the K.L. Griffin, B.H. Hill, George R. Skelton and J.T. Chalker were elected city councilmen.

50 years ago …

In the Sunday, Jan. 5, 1964 edition of the Marietta Daily Journal reported that a 65-year-old Cobb man was charged with illegal receipt of $230 in old age pension funds. Solicitor Luther Hames, who referred the case to the Cobb Grand Jury, said that he believed that it was the first case of its kind reported to prosecutors in Georgia.

Also reported that day was the dedication of the Cobb-Marietta Library at 201 Atlanta Street. The library occupied the old post office building, acquired by the Cobb County-Marietta Public Library Board after the new Marietta Post Office was built on Lawrence Street.

A 17-year-old Marietta boy was reported in the Monday, Jan. 6, 1964 paper as admitting that he did not have much to do and couldn’t find a job, so he stole an automobile with a piece of tin foil. The boy told deputies that he left home and walked down to Kennestone Hospital where he spotted the car. He took the inner lining of tin foil from a pack of cigarettes and “hot wired” the car. The boy was apprehended on his way home with the car by deputies.

Another story that day reported Cobb Superior Court would convene on Jan. 20 and had 700 cases on the docket, including a murder charge against a black woman who was accused of fatally shooting her husband, whom she said had threatened her with a piece of pipe. There were also more than 120 cases to be heard concerning bad checks.

Drug executive Howard Atherton Jr. was reported in the Tuesday, Jan. 7, 1964 paper as having took office of mayor with a gloomy report to new Marietta councilmen and citizens that the outgoing administration had committed the city to $63,000 deficit by July 1.

20 years ago …

Cobb water officials were reported in the Wednesday, Jan. 5, 1994 MDJ as saying that they believed an Austell chemical company was responsible for high acid levels in a nearby tributary. The pH levels caused by high chemical concentrations were found in two drainage areas below C&S Chemicals off Bankhead Highway. The low pH levels, which indicated high acidity, were capable of causing the death of some aquatic life and human skin irritation. Colin Decker, the industrial monitoring supervisor with the Cobb Water System, said that the county was “pretty sure” that C&S Chemicals were responsible for the pollution.

U.S. Rep. Newt Gingrich, R-east Cobb, was reported in the Thursday, Jan. 6, 1994 paper as siding with Cobb gun dealers who stridently objected to a federal proposal to increase licensing fees by 6,000 percent. U.S. Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen said he would like to see the licensing fee required to deal guns raised to $600 a year from $10.

In the Friday, Jan. 7, 1994 paper it was reported that a 19-year-old Cobb restaurant worker was in serious condition at Kennestone Hospital, where she was being treated for bacterial meningitis, the first reported case in Georgia in 1994.

Damon Poirier is the Newsroom Administrator for the Marietta Daily Journal.

If you are interested in learning more about the stories that were presented in this week’s column, you can search the newspaper’s digitized microfilm archives online. NewsBank, which hosts the archives for the Marietta Daily Journal, charges a fee for retrieved articles and has various price packages available. If you have any trouble with your username, password or payment options, please contact NewsBank at mariettadaily@newsbank.com.

This week’s Time Capsule looks at a hunting accident, a C-130 Hercules landing, a freak snowstorm, Aunt Fanny’s Cabin and a healthcare merger.

100 years ago …

In Friday, Jan. 2, 1914 edition of the Marietta Journal and Courier, the front page reported that three teenage boys were rabbit hunting on a farm when one of the teens accidentally shot another fatally in the neck.

Also that week, it was reported that the cotton census for Cobb County reported 19,171 bales of cotton were ginned up to Dec. 13, 1913. The year before there were only 14,377 bales ginned.

50 years ago …

In the Friday, Dec. 27, 1963 Marietta Daily Journal it was reported that students at Southern Technical Institute, now known as Southern Polytechnic State University, would be spending two-dollar bills to demonstrate the effect of the college community on the city of Marietta and surrounding Cobb County.

A four-car collision at the intersection of Bells Ferry and the Four-Lane, now known as U.S. Hwy. 41, was reported in the Sunday, Dec. 29, 1963 paper as having sent eight people to the hospital with injuries. Efforts to get a traffic light installed at the busy intersection had been unsuccessful for sometime and had resulted in a controversy between the state and county.

The Air Force announced in the Monday, Dec. 30, 1963 paper a $26 million increment to Lockheed-Georgia Company for the C-130E program. The increment was part of an overall $131 million Lockheed program for producing and equipping the C-130E.

In the Tuesday, Dec. 31, 1963 paper it was reported that the Navy Department in Washington confirmed that a Marietta-built C-130 Hercules made a successful landing on an aircraft carrier at sea. The landing was made on the flight deck of the super carrier Forrestal, but the Navy did not say when or where the landing took place.

Also that day, a ‘freak’ snowstorm was reported as blanketing the county and creating super-hazardous conditions for highways and street travel. The storm dumped more than an inch of snow on the county by noon that day and was predicted to continue snowing and sleeting for the rest of New Year’s eve.

Another story that day reported that Aunt Fanny’s Cabin, a nationally-known Cobb County restaurant, was out of business for the remainder of the holiday season after an early-morning fire that destroyed the kitchen. The Lemon-Vinings Fire Department received the fire report at 1:30 a.m. and reached the scene in time to contain the blames to the rear of the establishment with the greater part of the damage concentrated in the kitchen, boiler room and adjoining storeroom.

20 years ago …

In the Monday, Dec. 27, 1993 MDJ it was reported that the Cobb Community Transit announced it would launch the metro area’s first mass-transit program for the handicapped. Plans called for roughly 20,000 to 30,000 passengers in the first year. Memorial Day weekend was the target date for beginning the $1 million annual service. Fifteen min-busses that could accommodate wheelchairs were expected to arrive by late March or early April 1994.

Lottery vendors said in the Tuesday, Dec. 28, 1993 paper that the week’s record $15 million estimated jackpot had residents making a mad dash to their stores. The previous week’s $10 million jackpot, which had rolled over, resulted in the sale of 7.5 million ticket sales. The amount seems rather small compared to the recent $600-plus million Mega Millions jackpot.

The Cobb-based Northwest Georgia Health System, now known as WellStar Health System, and Atlanta’s 500-bed Piedmont Hospital were reported in the Thursday, Dec. 30, 1993 paper as beginning merger talks to create what would be the state’s largest healthcare network. In an alliance between the two healthcare organizations, open-heart surgery was expected to be included in the network because it was being performed at Piedmont. Currently, WellStar Health System is in a joint collaboration with Piedmont Healthcare of Atlanta to sell health insurance.

Damon Poirier is the Newsroom Administrator for the Marietta Daily Journal.

If you are interested in learning more about the stories that were presented in this week’s column, you can search the newspaper’s digitized microfilm archives online. NewsBank, which hosts the archives for the Marietta Daily Journal, charges a fee for retrieved articles and has various price packages available. If you have any trouble with your username, password or payment options, please contact NewsBank at mariettadaily@newsbank.com.

This week’s Time Capsule looks at broken arms, a mayor’s salary, prayer and a limousine war.

100 years ago …

In Friday, Dec. 26, 1913 edition of the Marietta Journal and Courier, the front page reported that following the resignation of Fulton National Bank of Atlanta vice president Julius Bashinski that former cashier A.B. Simms had taken his position. Also in the general shifting of positions, Ryburn Clay – son of the late Sen. A.S. Clay, was promoted to the position of assistant cashier. Clay’s promotion came as a wedding present since he was to be married the following week to a woman from Boston, Mass.

Also that week the front page reported three broken arms within four days. The first was a Marietta man broke his right arm while playing football in Atlanta, while two other Marietta men broke their right arms while cranking their automobiles.

50 years ago …

In the Friday, Dec. 20, 1963 Marietta Daily Journal, Sheriff Kermit Sanders was reported saying that the night watch man at the Crescent Park Skating Rink on Austell Road was found dead on the floor of the manager’s office with a large gash in the back of his head. The wound was presumed to be from a fall or a blow from a heavy instrument. Based on blood found on the walls in the restroom, authorities said that the incident happened there and the victim stumbled into the office. Sheriff Sanders said nothing was missing and robbery was ruled out as a possible cause for the death.

Also that day, Marietta Mayor-Elect Howard Atherton Jr. was reported as not being satisfied with the mayor’s salary and was going to ask for a reduction when he took office in January. Atherton wanted the pay cut from $616.67 per month to $300. The mayor’s duties were also being slashed. Keeping a campaign promise, Atherton’s administration switched over to a city manager form of government, where the city manager would take over all administrative duties. The mayor’s duties would now be to serve as the ceremonial representative of the city, preside over all city council meetings and serve as chairman of the City Board of Lights and Water.

The principal of Lucius D. Clay Elementary School was reported killed in the Monday, Dec. 23, 1963 paper in a wreck at Due West and Mars Hill Roads. He was the third fatality in the county in three weeks and the 32nd of the year. The wreck occurred when a 16-year-old driver skidded through a stop sign and struck the principal’s car. After being hit, the car went into a four-foot deep ditch, flipped once in the air and landed on its wheels. The principal’s four-year-old son survived the incident and was treated for head injuries and a broken leg at Kennestone Hospital.

In the Tuesday, Dec. 24, 1963 paper, it was reported that the creation of a new fire district in the Acworth area and expansion of five existing districts drew lop-sided voter approval in a series of referendums through Cobb County. Voting in the Gritters area failed to produce approval for a new fire district there. Last minute Christmas shopping, bad weather and icy roads were blamed for keeping voters away from the polls. A total of only 799 people cast ballots in the seven referendums.

20 years ago …

The American Civil Liberties Union was reported in the Tuesday, Dec. 21, 1993 MDJ as having threatened to sue Cobb and Henry counties unless their county commissioners halted long-time practices of praying before board meetings. Volunteer lawyers for the ACLU wrote Cobb Commission Chairman Bill Byrne on Dec. 13, threatening legal action if the board didn’t suspend “sectarian prayer at the beginning of each commission meeting.” ACLU volunteer attorney Kelly Brown, a first-year lawyer with an Atlanta publishing firm, said in letters to Byrne that county money used for prayers at commission meetings was unconstitutional. She cited as examples the county’s validation of parking tickets for visiting ministers who deliver the prayer and sending thank-you notes to them on official county stationary. The following day, it was reported that Cobb’s five commissioners said they would oppose any efforts by the ACLU to stop prayer before board meetings and that they believed the ACLU did not have the right to tell them if they could pray before meetings.

In the Thursday, Dec. 23, 1993 paper, it was reported that Cobb commissioners said they were ready to launch a counter-attack against Atlanta in what had been termed a metro-area “limousine war.” Cobb and several other metro area governments had lost patience with the “aggressive tactics” of the Atlanta Bureau of Taxicabs and Vehicles for Hire. Their impatience was fueled by the passage of the Atlanta City Council’s ordinance requiring out-of-city limousine companies to pay between $650 and $750 per car and driver for licenses to operate within Atlanta’s city limits. Cobb officials were reported as talking quietly with Gwinnett and Clayton counties along with several municipalities about establishing a limousine-services zone that would provide competitive advantages to companies based within it – at the expense of Atlanta-based limo businesses.

Damon Poirier is the Newsroom Administrator for the Marietta Daily Journal.

If you are interested in learning more about the stories that were presented in this week’s column, you can search the newspaper’s digitized microfilm archives online. NewsBank, which hosts the archives for the Marietta Daily Journal, charges a fee for retrieved articles and has various price packages available. If you have any trouble with your username, password or payment options, please contact NewsBank at mariettadaily@newsbank.com.

This week’s Time Capsule looks at a monument, a nuclear reactor, a maiden flight, padlocking, the Marietta City Club and Kennestone Hospital.

100 years ago …

In Friday, Dec. 19, 1913 edition of the Marietta Journal and Courier, the front page reported that the State of Illinois had appropriated $20,000 for the erection of a Georgia marble monument on Cheatham Hill, three miles from Marietta, in memory of the Illinois troops that took part in the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain during the Civil War. The Confederates were entrenched on Cheatham Hill when the Northern troops advanced. The fighting was terrible, lasting six days and nights with soldiers almost within gun’s reach of each other. After the sixth day, the Northern troops dug a 50 yard tunnel underneath the Confederates and planned to blow them up as a Fourth of July celebration.

Also that week there was a half-page sized ad on the front from the T.L. Wallace Clothing Co. titled, “A Few Suggestions for Christmas.” The ad offered underwear, shirts, handkerchiefs, gloves, neckwear, silk hose and silk garters all for $1.

50 years ago …

In the Friday, Dec. 13, 1963 Marietta Daily Journal it was reported that a pre-dawn blaze, believed to be arson, gutted three stores in a building on Acworth’s Main Street. The building was occupied by the Model Cleaners, the Simco Loan Company and the Hubert H. Hunter Barber Shop. Acworth Police Chief E.H. Stone said that a large can containing two gallons of kerosene and a small antifreeze can with a kerosene odor were found behind the stores.

Also that day, it was reported that a thief with a sack over his face and carrying an automatic shotgun walked into a service station on Atlanta Road and stole $20 from the attendant.

The Marietta City Council was reported in the Sunday, Dec. 15, 1963 paper as facing a proposal to change the names of 69 city streets when it met in January. The proposal was presented by City Planner Loe LaForge as part of a countywide program involving the renaming of streets with duplicate or similar names.

The Atomic Energy Commission in Washington, D.C., was reported in the Monday, Dec. 16, 1963 paper as proposing to permit Lockheed-Georgia Company to operate a nuclear reactor in Dawsonville at higher power. The company at the time was only licensed to operate the radiation effect reactor at a maximum power of one thermal megawatt. Under the new license, Lockheed could operate it at a maximum of three thermal megawatts.

The C-141 StarLifter was reported in the Tuesday, Dec. 17, 1963 paper as having left the ground for the first time at Dobbins Air Force Base. The successful maiden flight marked, to the day, the 60th anniversary of the Wright Brother’s flight at Kitty Hawk, N.C. At the controls of the Marietta designed and built fan-jet transport was Leo Sullivan, Lockheed-Georgia Company’s chief test pilot. Hundreds of spectators lined the Dobbins runway for the historic first flight.

In the Wednesday, Dec. 18, 1963 paper it was reported that The Sugar Shack, a dining and dancing establishment on the Four Lane Highway South (U.S. Highway 41) in Marietta, had been ordered padlocked pending a court order on charges that it was a public nuisance and had violated state liquor laws. The court order was signed by Cobb Superior Court Judge Albert Henderson at the request of Solicitor Luther Hames. Law enforcement officials were ordered to search the premises for illegal intoxicants. The following day, Thursday, Dec. 19, 1963, The Orbit Inn, a café on Bankhead Highway, was also padlocked by Cobb Sheriff Kermit Sanders following charges by Hames that it was being operated as a front for gambling and the sale of intoxicants.

20 years ago …

The public authority overseeing the $48 million Cobb Galleria Centre was reported in the Tuesday, Dec. 14, 1993 MDJ as having tried again to persuade county commissioners to write off almost $400,000 in building permit and water and sewer tap-in fees. Commission Chairman Bill Byrne – who also served on the Cobb-Marietta Coliseum and Exhibit Hall Authority – held out little hope for the request. Commissioners had turned down a similar proposal in September 1992 for the facility under construction on Cobb Parkway in the Cumberland-Galleria area noting that that the county did not waive the permits and fees for schools and other public buildings.

In the Wednesday, Dec. 15, 1993 paper it was reported that for two years after opening, the Marietta City Club was not meeting its original revenue projections and was slowly draining city coffers. The public golf club, which opened in October 1991, cleared $384,560 after expenses during the 1993 fiscal year, which was far below the $550,000 annual net income projected for each of the course’s first three years of operation.

Smyrna officials were reported in the Thursday, Dec. 16, 1993 paper as expected to annex 19 acres that included several major businesses in the Platinum Triangle. The land was in five unincorporated islands in the highly developed business district at the intersection of Interstates 285 and 75 in southeast Cobb. Annexation would mean an additional $108,000 in property taxes for Smyrna.

Kennestone Hospital trustees were reported in the Friday, Dec. 17, 1993 paper as having voted to file an appeal with the State Supreme Court of Georgia in the next stage in the war for a Cobb-based open-heart surgery center. The hospital’s appeal was in response to the Nov. 22 denial by the Georgia Court of Appeals of the hospital’s request to offer heart surgery.

Damon Poirier is the Newsroom Administrator for the Marietta Daily Journal.

If you are interested in learning more about the stories that were presented in this week’s column, you can search the newspaper’s digitized microfilm archives online. NewsBank, which hosts the archives for the Marietta Daily Journal, charges a fee for retrieved articles and has various price packages available. If you have any trouble with your username, password or payment options, please contact NewsBank at mariettadaily@newsbank.com.

Its crazy how times are just as bad as they were back when i was gallabattan around the square swinging on the playground and adm kill ring that ole liberty bell on the square. i was always fascinated by it. Last time pops and i were up there i think somebodt had stole her.like a thief in the night..gofigure. it waa probably the hells angelsmotorcycle gang. Moon ans my uncle mill's were always fighting them i guess trying to keep peace in the Honky Tonks.

Happy Memorial Day to all of those great men i miss and the ones who served our u.s.communities and our Country the land of the free and the Beautiful.

This week’s Time Capsule looks at a Confederate veteran, an Atherton’s victim, Studebakers, SPSU dorms, a walkway at Cumberland mall and Lester Maddox.

100 years ago …

In Friday, Dec. 12, 1913 edition of the Marietta Journal and Courier, the front page reported that E.P. Dobbs had been elected Mayor for the next two years during the primary election. Dobbs beat his opponent Joe M. Austin by 126 votes.

Also that week it was reported that after only a week of illness, Rev. Elam Christian died the Tuesday before. Rev. Christian had been in delicate health for years after being seriously wounded in the first volley fired at the first battle of Manassas on July 21, 1861 at the age of 19. After Manassas, he became a drill master of Southern troops at Kennesaw and was there when Northern soldiers stole the “General” and ran away with a W&A freight train. He was a local Methodist minister, but not a member of a conference, and the editor of various papers in cities and towns in Georgia, Texas and North Carolina.

50 years ago …

In the Friday, Dec. 6, 1963 Marietta Daily Journal, it was reported that Seventh District Congressman John Davis called for an end to regional differences in the country and said the surest way to accomplish that goal was to “wipe out hatred and misunderstanding.” Davis spoke to more than 1,000 Cobb County and Marietta high school seniors in a Citizenship Day Program at the Larry Bell Center in a program sponsored by the county’s four Civitan clubs. Davis credited late President Franklin D. Roosevelt with being the man who “woke up and discovered the forgotten man in our nation is the South.”

Mayor-Elect Howard Atherton and members of Marietta’s new city council were reported in the Sunday, Dec. 8, 1963 paper as agreeing to sidetrack the controversial Kennesaw Avenue and Powder Springs Street links in an effort to salvage a proposed multi-lane highway loop around the city. Atherton said he had been informed by state highway officials that the city was on the verge of losing the entire $10 million highway connector program as a result of protests.

Charles E. Scott of Powder Springs, the brave 78-year-old man with a “very strong constitution,” was reported in the Monday, Dec. 9, 1963 paper as leaving Kennestone Hospital after five weeks of hospitalization following the Halloween explosion at Atherton’s Drugstore. Scott was in the front of the building at the time of the blast and was rushed to the hospital in critical condition.

In the Tuesday, Dec. 10, 1963 paper, it was reported that the news of Studebaker closing down its U.S. Automotive production lines was no disappointment to the Marietta dealership of Burnett-Teague Motors. Officials at the Marietta firm said the demand for the cars had become almost nil and indicated the company had planned to discontinue their sales anyway.

The State Board of Regents were reported in the Thursday, Dec. 12, 1963 paper as having approved another dormitory project at Southern Tech, which is now known as Southern Polytechnic State University and currently slated to be merged with Kennesaw State University. The dormitory, which cost about $1 million dollars, was to house 180 students and the campus dining hall.

20 years ago …

In the Tuesday, Dec. 7, 1993 MDJ, it was reported that a 37-year-old Mableton man was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the March slaying of a female friend who begged him to kill her because she thought that she was dying of AIDS. An autopsy after the woman’s death later showed that she did not have the disease. The charges, originally malice murder and felony murder, were dropped to voluntary manslaughter in return for the man’s guilty plea.

A pedestrian walkway was reported in the Thursday, Dec. 9, 1993 paper as being built across Cobb Parkway (U.S. Hwy. 41) between the Galleria Specialty and Cumberland malls, near to where the new Atlanta Braves stadium is to be built in the county. Cobb Community Improvement District and state Department of Transportation officials pledged up to $750,000 each for a walkway over the busy eight-lane highway. The final cost was expected at about $1.5 million. The walkway came about after a 15-year-old Wheeler High School student was killed while she was trying to cross Cobb Parkway from the Cumberland Mall parking lot with a friend.

Standing before a mock grave in front of his northeast Cobb home, former Georgia Gov. Lester Maddox was reported in the Saturday, Dec. 11, 1993 paper as paying his last respects to the nation’s healthcare system. Maddox said lives were threatened if President Bill Clinton pushed his plans for a national healthcare system through Congress. So he dug a grave – which was surrounded by a six-foot fence topped with barbed wire – and lowered a flag-draped casket into it to eulogize the nation’s current healthcare system and alert others to the dangers of the presidential proposal.

Damon Poirier is the Newsroom Administrator for the Marietta Daily Journal.

If you are interested in learning more about the stories that were presented in this week’s column, you can search the newspaper’s digitized microfilm archives online. NewsBank, which hosts the archives for the Marietta Daily Journal, charges a fee for retrieved articles and has various price packages available. If you have any trouble with your username, password or payment options, please contact NewsBank at mariettadaily@newsbank.com.

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